Image processing apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An image processing apparatus and method. The image processing method includes a data obtaining unit for obtaining volume data that contains a target image; a depth-data obtaining unit for obtaining depth data that indicates a depth to the surface of the target image from an image plane; an image processing unit for processing the volume data into a processed volume data based on the depth-data, and obtaining a rendered image based on the processed volume data; and a display unit for displaying the rendered image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a U.S. Continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/001,133, filed on Jan. 19, 2016, which is aContinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/789,628,filed on Mar. 7, 2013 and claims the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2012-0023619, filed on Mar. 7, 2012, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein in their entireties by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus andmethod.

2. Description of the Related Art

An image processing apparatus may obtain 2D rendered images with threedimensional (3D) textures by rendering volume data for stereographicimages. The image processing apparatus may also process the volume datato enhance the image quality of rendered images or edit the renderedimages.

Accordingly, an image processing apparatus and method is required toefficiently process the volume data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an image processing apparatus and methodfor efficiently processing volume data.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided animage processing apparatus comprising: a data obtaining unit forobtaining volume data that contains a target image; a depth-dataobtaining unit for obtaining depth data that indicates a depth to thesurface of the target image from an image plane; an image processingunit for processing the volume data based on the depth data intoprocessed volume data, and obtaining a rendered image based on theprocessed volume data; and a display unit for displaying the renderedimage.

The image processing apparatus may further comprises an input unit forreceiving a edit request to edit the rendered image from a user, whereinthe image processing unit obtains an edited rendered image based on theedit request and the depth-data, and the display unit displays theedited rendered image.

The image processing unit may divide the volume data into a targetvolume and a non-target volume on the border of the surface of thetarget image obtained based on the depth-data, and obtain processedvolume data formed by removing the non-target volume from the volumedata.

The image processing unit may obtain a mask volume that indicates thesurface of the target image based on the depth-data, and mask the volumedata with the mask volume to obtain the processed volume data.

The image processing unit may obtain an editing area within the renderedimage based on the edit request, establish a deletion volumecorresponding to the editing area in the processed volume data based onthe depth-data, remove the deletion volume from the processed volumedata to obtain an edited volume data, and obtain the edited renderedimage based on the edited volume data.

A bottom depth of the deletion volume from the image plane may be equalto or deeper than the depth to the surface of the target image.

A top depth of the deletion volume from the image plane may be equal toor shallower than a minimum depth to the surface of the target imagewithin the editing area, and the bottom depth of the deletion volumefrom the image plane may be equal to or shallower than a maximum depthto the surface of the target image within the editing area.

The edit request may further include user depth information thatindicates the bottom depth of the deletion volume.

The input unit may receive a recover request to recover the editedrendered image, the image processing unit may recover the editedrendered image based on the recover request to obtain a recoveredrendered image, and the display unit may display the recovered renderedimage.

The image processing unit may set up the deletion volume or a part ofthe deletion volume from the edited volume data as a recover volume,obtain recovered volume data by recovering the recover volume in theedited volume data, and obtain the recovered rendered image based on therecovered volume data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan image processing method comprising: obtaining volume data thatcontains a target image; obtaining depth data that indicates a depth tothe surface of the target image from an image plane; processing thevolume data based on the depth data into processed volume data, andobtaining a rendered image based on the processed volume data; anddisplaying the rendered image.

The image processing method may further comprises receiving an editrequest to edit the rendered image from a user; obtaining an editedrendered image based on the edit request and the depth-data; anddisplaying the edited rendered image.

The obtaining of the processed volume data may further comprise dividingthe volume data into a target volume and a non-target volume on theborder of the surface of the target image obtained based on thedepth-data, and removing the non-target volume from the volume data.

The obtaining of the edited rendered image may comprise obtaining anediting area within the rendered image based on the edit request,establishing a deletion volume corresponding to the editing area in theprocessed volume data based on the depth-data, removing the deletionvolume from the processed volume data to obtain an edited volume data,and obtaining the edited rendered image based on the edited volume data.

A bottom depth of the deletion volume from the image plane may be equalto or deeper than the depth to the surface of the target image.

A top depth of the deletion volume from the image plane may be equal toor shallower than a minimum depth to the surface of the target imagewithin the editing area, and the bottom depth of the deletion volumefrom the image plane may be equal to or shallower than a maximum depthto the surface of the target image within the editing area.

The edit request may further include user depth information thatindicates the bottom depth of the deletion volume.

The image processing method may further comprises receiving a recoverrequest to recover the edited rendered image, recovering the editedrendered image based on the recover request to obtain a recoveredrendered image, and displaying the recovered rendered image.

The obtaining of the recovered rendered image may comprise setting upthe deletion volume or a part of the deletion volume from the editedvolume data as a recover volume, obtaining recovered volume data byrecovering the recover volume in the edited volume data, and obtainingthe recovered rendered image based on the recovered volume data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon programsthat perform, when executed by a computer, the method as describedabove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image processing apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an example of volume data obtained by a data obtainingunit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a method of obtaining depth data performedby a depth-data obtaining unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts an example of processed volume data obtained by an imageprocessing unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a mask volume used by the image processingunit of FIG. 1 to obtain the processed volume data;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a rendered image where a target is a fetus;

FIG. 7 shows another example of an edited rendered image where thetarget is the fetus;

FIG. 8 shows examples of the rendered image in which an editing area isset up and the edited rendered image;

FIG. 9 depicts an example of the processed volume data in which adeletion volume is set up;

FIG. 10 shows an enlargement of a part of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 depicts an example of an edited volume data obtained by removingthe deletion volume from the processed volume data;

FIG. 12 depicts an example of the edited volume data for the editedrendered image;

FIG. 13 depicts an example of recovered volume data for a recoveredrendered image;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an image processing method according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 shows an example of the edited rendered image obtained byperforming an image processing method different from the embodiments ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the presentembodiments may have different forms and should not be construed asbeing limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, theembodiments are merely described below, by referring to the figures, toexplain aspects of the present description.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image processing apparatus 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 100 includes acontrol unit 110 and a display unit 120. The image processing apparatus100 may further include an input unit 130 and a storage unit 140.

The image processing apparatus 100 may be applied to a medical imagedevice, such as, an ultrasound imaging device, a computed tomography(CT) device or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device. For example,the image processing apparatus 100 may be incorporated in the medicalimaging device. The image processing apparatus 100 may be applied notonly to medical imaging devices but also to various imaging devices thatrequire volume data to be processed.

The control unit 110 may obtain and process data to create a displayimage to be displayed on the display unit 120. The display unit 120 maydisplay the display image in real time according to control by thecontrol unit 110. The input unit 130 may receive a user request from auser. The control unit 110 may process the data based on the userrequest. The input unit 130 or a part of the input unit 130 may bedisplayed on the display unit 120.

The control unit 110 may include a data obtaining unit 112, a depth-dataobtaining unit 114 and an image processing unit 116. The data obtainingunit 112 obtains volume data that contains a target image. Thedepth-data obtaining unit 114 obtains depth data that indicates a depthto the surface of the target image with respect to an image plane. Theimage processing unit 116 obtains processed volume data by processingthe volume data based on the depth data, and obtains a rendered imagebased on the processed volume data. The display unit 120 displays therendered image.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of the volume data obtained by the dataobtaining unit 112 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a volume data 300 obtained in the dataobtaining unit 112 contains a target image 200. The volume data 300 mayinclude a plurality of voxel values. The target image 200 is astereoscopic data of a target. In FIG. 2, the target image 200 is onlyby way of an example the stereoscopic data of a fetus but is not limitedthereto. The target may be any animal body including a human body, or apart of an animal body. For example, the target may be a fetus or anorgan of an animal body.

As an example, the data obtaining unit 112 may scan a three dimensional(3D) space having a target, and may obtain the volume data 300 that mayimage the scanned 3D space with a 3D effect. As another example, thedata obtaining unit 112 may receive scan information of the scannedtarget from an external scanning device, and may obtain the volume data300 based on the scan information. As a further example, the dataobtaining unit 112 may receive the volume data 300 from the externaldevice. However, the method of obtaining the volume data in the imageprocessing apparatus 100 is not limited thereto, but the volume data maybe obtained in different ways.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a method of obtaining depth data performedby a depth-data obtaining unit 114 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the depth-data obtaining unit 114 obtainsthe depth data that indicates surface depths DP1-DP5 between the surfaceof the target image 200 and an image plane IPL.

The image plane IPL may be a virtual plane on which a viewpoint image ofthe volume data 300 captured by a virtual camera is formed. Theviewpoint image formed on the image plane IPL may be displayed throughthe display unit 120.

The depth-data obtaining unit 140 may set a position and an orientationof the image plane IPL with respect to the volume data 300 in differentways. The position and the orientation of the image plane IPL may bealtered based on the user request input through the input unit 130.

The image plane IPL may include a plurality of pixels PX1-PX5, which arearranged in a matrix form. FIG. 3 depicts, by way of an example, firstto fifth pixels PX1-PX5 arranged in a line, but the number of the pixelsto be included in the image plane IPL is not limited thereto.

The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may obtain a depth to the surface ofthe target image 200 for each of the plurality of pixels PX1-PX5.Accordingly, the depth data may include a plurality of depths DP1-DP5for the plurality of pixels PX1-PX5 in the image plane IPL.

The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may obtain the depth data based on theamount of reflection of light incident to the volume data 300 from theimage plane IPL. This is because the surface of the target image 200 inthe volume data has more light reflection compared with parts other thanthe surface. Thus, the depth-data obtaining unit 114 may detect maxpoints where the amount of reflected light is maximum in the volume data300, and consider the max points as surface points SP1-SP5 of the targetimage 200. Each surface point SP1-SP5 may be a voxel. Furthermore, thedepth-data obtaining unit 114 may obtain depth data based on the surfacepoints SP1-SP5.

For example, the depth-data obtaining unit 114 may obtain the depth-dataof a target image 200 based on ray casting that is used for volumerendering.

At each of the plurality of pixels PX1-PX5 in the image plane IPL, alight ray RY1-RY5 may reach a virtual plane VPL passing through thevolume data 300 from the image plane IPL.

A plurality of sample points (S1, S2, . . . , Sn, where n is an integer)are established for each of the plurality of rays RY1-RY5. Each of theplurality of sample points S1, S2, . . . , Sn may be a voxel. The samplepoints shown in FIG. 3 are merely illustrative, and the locations of thesample points, gaps between the sample points, the number of the samplepoints, etc. are not limited thereto.

With ray casting, the light reflection is obtained at each of theplurality of sample points S1, S2, . . . , Sn on one of the plurality ofrays RY1-RY5, and thus a total sum of the reflections for the ray isobtained by summing all the reflections at the plurality of samplepoints on the ray. For example, a total sum TS(2) of the reflections atsample points S1, S2, . . . , Sn on a second ray RY2 may be obtained asgiven by equation (1):

$\begin{matrix}{{{TS}(2)} = {\sum\limits_{i}^{n}{{Di}\mspace{11mu} \underset{j}{\overset{i - 1}{\Pi}}\; {Tj}}}} & {\text{<}{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1\text{>}}\end{matrix}$

where Di is an intensity of light at an i^(th) sample point Si of thesecond ray RY2, and Tj is transparency at a j^(th) sample point Sj ofthe second ray RY2.

The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may detect a max reflection among theplurality of sample points S1, S1, . . . , Sn of each of the pluralityof rays RY1-RY5, and presume the max reflection to be a surface pointSP1-SP5 of the target image 200. For example, the depth-data obtainingunit 114 may detect the max reflection Tmax(2) among the sample pointsS1, S2, . . . , Sn of the second ray RY2 as in equation (2):

$\begin{matrix}{{{T\max}(2)} = {\max\limits_{i}\left\{ {{Di}\mspace{11mu} \underset{j}{\overset{i - 1}{\Pi}}\; {Tj}} \right\}}} & {\text{<}{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 2\text{>}}\end{matrix}$

The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may detect the max reflection Tmax(2)among the sample points S1, S1, . . . , Sn of the second ray RY2 as thesecond surface point SP2.

The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may presume the second surface pointSP2 of the second ray RY2 to be in the surface of the target image 200with respect to the second pixel PX2, and obtain the depth between thesecond surface point SP2 and the second pixel PX2 as a second surfacedepth DP2. The depth-data obtaining unit 114 may also obtain depth datafor the remaining rays by obtaining their depths to the surface.

The image processing unit 116 will now be described.

The image processing unit 116 obtains processed volume data byprocessing the volume data 300 based on the depth data. The imageprocessing unit 116 may divide the volume data 300 into a target volumeand a non-target volume on the border of the surface of the target image200 obtained based on the depth data. The image processing unit 116 mayobtain the processed volume data with the non-target volume removed fromthe volume data 300.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of the processed volume data obtained by theimage processing unit 116 of FIG. 1. It is assumed that the processedvolume data 300A shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by the image processingunit 116 of FIG. 1 by processing the volume data 300 of FIG. 3 based onthe depth data.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the processed volume data 300A may resultfrom eliminating the non-target volume from the volume data 300 withrespect to the surface of the target image 200 (OMS). The non-targetvolume may have a depth with respect to the image plane IPL less thanthe depth to the surface of the target image 200 (OMS). Removal of thenon-target volume may refer to altering each value of the plurality ofvoxels included in the non-target volume from among the values of theplurality of voxels included in the volume data 300 to a referencevalue. Voxels whose values are altered to the reference value may bepresented in a reference color, such as, in a black.

As such, the image processing unit 116 of FIG. 1 may only remove thenon-target volume from the volume data 300 while maintaining the surfaceof the target image 200 OMS and a volume deeper than the OMS. Thenon-target volume is likely to be noise or an obstacle to which thedepth is shallower than the depth to the surface of the target image 200(OMS). Thus, the image processing unit 116 of FIG. 1 may remove thenoise or obstacle from the volume data 300 while preserving the surfaceof the target image 200 (OMS).

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a mask volume used by the image processingunit 116 of FIG. 1 to obtain the processed volume data.

Referring to FIG. 5, the image processing unit 116 of FIG. 1 may obtainthe mask volume that indicates the surface of the target image (OMS)based on the depth data. A hatched part of the mask volume MV mayindicate the target volume OBV while a non-hatched part indicates thenon-target volume.

Turning back to FIGS. 3 to 5, the image processing unit 116 of FIG. 1may obtain the processed volume data by masking the volume data 300 withthe mask volume MV. Masking may be an image processing operation whichinvolves matching the volume data 300 and the mask volume MV, andremoving the non-target volume (non-hatched part) indicated by the maskvolume MV from the volume data 300 to obtain the processed volume data300A.

The image processing unit 116 obtains a rendered image based on theprocessed volume data 300A. The rendered image may be a viewpoint imageof the processed volume data 300A, which is formed on the image planeIPL. The image processing unit 116 may obtain the rendered image basedon the ray casting. However, the image processing unit 116 may obtainthe rendered image based not only on the ray casting but also on variousvolume rendering methods. The display unit 120 of FIG. 1 displays therendered image.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the rendered image where the target is afetus.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, parts of the face of the target appearshidden by the hand of the target in the rendering image 400. Inconnection with FIG. 3, this is because the depth to the hand of thetarget image 200 from the image plane IPL is shallower than the depth tothe face of the target image 200.

In this regard, only the face of the target may be a region of interest.The hand of the target may be a region of non-interest. Thus, when therendered image 400 includes the region of non-interest, a method ofediting the rendered image 400 by eliminating the region of non-interestfrom the rendered image 400 is required.

The input unit 130 may receive an edit request to edit the renderedimage 400 from a user. The image processing unit 116 may obtain anedited rendered image based on the edit request received through theinput unit 130 and the depth data obtained by the depth-data obtainingunit 114. The display unit 120 may display the edited rendered image.

FIG. 7 shows another example of the edited rendered image where thetarget is the fetus. Assuming that the edited rendered image 500 of FIG.7 is obtained from the rendered image 400 based on the edit request andthe depth data.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the hand in the edited rendered image 500,which is the region of non-interest displayed in the rendered image 400,is removed. Again, the edited rendered image 500 has the face of thetarget which was hidden by the hand of the target being viewed.

Next, an example of a method of obtaining the edited rendered image 500from the rendered image 400 in the image processing unit 116 will bedescribed.

The image processing unit 116 may obtain an editing area based on theedit request, establish a deletion volume, which corresponds to theediting area, in the processed volume data based on the depth data,obtain an edited volume data having the deletion volume eliminated fromthe processed volume data, and obtain the edited rendered image based onthe edited volume data.

FIG. 8 shows examples of the rendered image having an editing area setup, and the edited rendered image;

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 8, the image processing unit 116 may set up theediting area EA in the rendered image 400A based on the edit requestreceived through the input unit 130. The display unit 120 may displaythe rendered image 400A in which the editing area EA is set up. Thedisplay unit 120 may also display the edited rendered image 500A formedby editing the rendered image 400A in the editing area EA. The editingarea EA is illustrated in a circle, but is not limited thereto.

The edit request may include editing area information that indicates theediting area EA.

As an example, the user may input the editing area information bydirectly selecting the editing area EA on the displayed rendered image400A. For example, the user may select the editing area EA on therendered image 400A through the input unit 130 that can be implementedwith a mouse, a track ball, etc.

As another example, the user may input the editing area information byselecting a point on the rendered image 400A displayed on the displayunit 130. The image processing unit 116 may set up the editing area EAbased on the point. For example, a circle centered on the point may beset up as the editing area EA. The radius r of the editing area EA maybe predetermined by default or adjusted by the user. Alternatively, anoval or a square with respect to the point may be set up as the editingarea EA.

The image processing unit 116 may set up a deletion volume, whichcorresponds to the editing area EA established on the rendered image400A, within the processed volume data.

FIG. 9 depicts an example of the processed volume data in which thedeletion volume is set up, FIG. 10 shows an enlargement of a part ofFIG. 9, and FIG. 11 depicts an example of edited volume data obtained byremoving the deletion volume from the processed volume data.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9 to 11, the image processing unit 116 may setup the deletion volume DV, which corresponds to the editing area EA,within the processed volume data 300B based on the editing area EA inthe image plane IPL, and then obtain the edited volume data 300C byremoving the deletion volume DV from the processed volume data 300B.

The editing area EA in the image plane IPL may include at least onepixel (EP1-EP5). Although the first to fifth pixels (EP1-EP5) are shownin a row in FIG. 10, they are merely illustrative and the number of theat least one pixel included in the editing area EA is not limited. Thepixels (EP1-EP5) of FIG. 10 may be ones, which are included in theediting area EA, from among the pixels (PX1-PX5).

A depth from the image plane IPL to a bottom surface BS of the deletionvolume DV may be equal to or deeper than the depth to the correspondingsurface [S(p), p=1, 2, . . . , 5] of the target image 200. That is, thedepth from the image plane IPL to the bottom surface BS of the deletionvolume DV may be deeper than the depth to the corresponding surface[S(p), p=1, 2, . . . , 5] of the target image 200 by a correspondingdeletion depth [d(p), p=1, 2, . . . , 5].

In FIG. 10, the depth to the bottom surface BS of the deletion volume DVfrom the first pixel EP1 is equal to the depth to the surface S(1) ofthe target image 200. That is, the first deletion depth d(1) is 0.Furthermore, the depth to the bottom surface BS of the deletion volumeDV from the third pixel EP3 is deeper than the depth to the surface S(3)of the target image 200 by the third deletion depth d(3).

The deletion depth d(p) may be set up in different ways. The deletiondepth d(p) may be set up constantly or differently for the plurality ofpixels EP1-EP5 included in the editing area EA.

The deletion depth d(p) may have an automatically established value. Thedeletion depth d(p) for the pth pixel EPp (p=1, 2, . . . , 5), one ofthe at least one pixels EP1-EP5 in the editing area EA, may be set upbased on at least one of the following: the position of the pth pixelEPp within the editing area EA, the depth to the surface S(p) of thetarget image 200 for the pth pixel EPp, and the maximum depth to thesurface Smax of the target image 200 within the editing area EA.

The shallower the depth to the surface S(p) of the target image 200 forthe pth pixel EPp is, the thicker the deletion depth d(p) becomes.Furthermore, the deeper the depth to the surface S(p) of the targetimage 200 for the pth pixel EPp is, the thinner the deletion depth d(p)becomes.

In addition, the depth to the upper surface (US) of the deletion volumefrom the image plane IPL may be equal to or shallower than the minimumdepth to the surface Smin of the target image 200 within the editingarea EA. Furthermore, the depth to the bottom surface BS of the deletionvolume DV from the image plane IPL may be equal to or shallower than themaximum depth to the surface Smax of the target image 200 within theediting area EA.

For example, the deletion depth d(p) for the corresponding pth pixel EPpmay be obtained by the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{{d(p)} = {^{- \frac{{{p - c}}^{2}}{2r^{2}}}\left( {{S\max} - {S(p)}} \right)}} & {\text{<}{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3\text{>}}\end{matrix}$

where p represents the position of the pth pixel PXp in the editing areaEA, c represents a center point of the editing area EA, and r representsthe radius of the editing area EA.

Alternatively, the deletion depth d(p) may have a value that is adjustedby the user. To adjust the deletion depth d(p), the edit request mayfurther include user depth information that indicates the depth to thebottom surface BS of the deletion volume DV. The edit request mayfurther include user depth information that indicates the deletion depthd(p).

As such, the image processing unit 116 may obtain the edited volume data300C, and obtain the edited rendered image (e.g., the rendered image500A of FIG. 8) based on the edited volume data 300C.

When the edited rendered image also includes a region of non-interest,the user may re-input an edit request to re-edit the edited renderedimage. The method of re-editing the edited rendered image may employ themethod of editing the rendered image (e.g., 400A). Herein, anyoverlapping description will be omitted.

The aim of the edited rendered image is to have the region ofnon-interest removed from the rendered image, but in the editing processnot only the region of non-interest but also the region of interest maybe removed. In addition, in the editing process, the region ofnon-interest may be changed into the region of interest. Accordingly, amethod of recovering a part or all of the removed region of non-interestfrom the edited rendered image is required.

Returning to FIG. 1, the input unit 130 may receive a recover requestfor recovering the edited rendered image (e.g. the rendered image 500Aof FIG. 8). The image processing unit 116 may obtain a recoveredrendered image based on the recover request. The display unit 120 maydisplay the recovered rendered image.

FIG. 12 depicts an example of the edited volume data for the editedrendered image, and FIG. 13 depicts an example of recovered volume datafor a recovered rendered image.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 12 and 13, the image processing unit 116 may setup a recover volume RV in the edited volume data 300D. The recovervolume RV may be the deletion volume DV or a part of the deletion volumeDV. The bottom surface of the recover volume RV may be consistent withthe bottom surface of the deletion volume DV.

The image processing unit 116 may obtain recovered volume data 300E byrecovering the recover volume RV in the edited volume data 300D.

The storage unit 140 may store volume data, processed volume data,edited volume data, recovered volume data, etc., which are processed bythe control unit 110. The image processing unit 116 may recover therecover volume RV based on the processed volume data stored in thestorage unit 140.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the image processing method according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, initially, volume data containing a target imageis obtained in operation S110. Depth data indicating a depth to thesurface of the target image from an image plane IPL is obtained, inoperation S120. Processed volume data is obtained by processing thevolume data based on the depth data, and a rendered image is obtainedbased on the processed volume data, in operation S130. The renderedimage is displayed in operation S140.

The image processing method shown in FIG. 14 may be performed by theimage processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. Each step of the imageprocessing method employs the steps described in connection with FIGS. 1to 13. Herein, any overlapping description will be omitted.

FIG. 15 shows an example of the edited rendered image obtained byperforming different image processing method from the embodiments of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 15, a specific area may be removed from the volumedata using a magic-cut functionality, and the rendered image may beobtained based on the volume data having the specific area removed.Meanwhile, in FIG. 15, the edited rendered image shows discontinuitybetween the removed area and its surroundings, thus appearing unnaturaland artificial. In addition, even an area whose removal was not desiredmay be removed from the volume data.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 8, the edited rendered image 500Aaccording to an embodiment of the present invention shows continuitybetween the editing area EA and its surroundings, thus appearing naturaland non-artificial.

As such, according to the embodiments of the present invention, theimage processing apparatus and method may be provided to efficientlyprocess the volume data.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the non-targetvolume may selectively be removed from the volume data. The non-targetvolume is likely to be noise or an obstacle to which the depth isshallower than the depth to the surface of the target image. Thus, thequality of the rendered image may be enhanced because the noise orobstacle could be removed from the volume data while preserving thesurface of the target image.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, byprocessing the volume data based on the depth data, the edited renderedimage may be obtained in which a region of interest is disclosed whileremoving the region of non-interest that hides the region of interest.In addition, once the user sets up the editing area through the editrequest, the edited rendered image may then be obtained. In conclusion,a more intuitive and convenient-to-use method of editing a renderedimage may be provided for the user.

The foregoing method may be written as computer programs and may beimplemented in general-use digital computers that execute the programsusing a computer readable recording medium. The data structure used inthe method can be recorded on the computer readable recording medium bymeans of various means. Examples of the computer readable recordingmedium include magnetic storage media (e.g., read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), universal serial bus (USB), floppy disk,hard disk, etc.), and optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROM, or DVD).

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ultrasound imaging device comprising: aprocessor configured to generate a first rendered image from a volumedata obtained by scanning an object; and a display configured to displaythe first rendered image, wherein based on an edit request, theprocessor generates a second rendered image by rendering the volume datain a first region to a different depth from a depth of a surface in thefirst region in the first rendered image to reveal a hidden region ofthe object hidden by an obstacle, the display displays the secondrendered image, and the hidden region comprises at least a part of aface region of a fetus.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising adata obtaining device configured to obtain the volume data by scanningthe object.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to indicate at least one surface of the object in the firstrendered image based on an amount of reflection of signal included inthe volume data.
 4. The device of claim 1, further comprising an inputdevice configured to receive the edit request with respect to the firstrendered image.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to generate the second rendered image by removing theobstacle from the first rendered image.
 6. The device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to represent voxels includedin a non-target volume as a reference color in the first rendered imageand the second rendered image.
 7. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising an input device configured to receive a recover request forrecovering the second rendered image, wherein the display is furtherconfigured to display a recovered rendered image in which a edited partwhile generating the second rendered image from the first rendered imageis recovered from the second rendered image based on the recoverrequest.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to obtain, based on the volume data, a depth data whichindicates a depth to the surface of the object with respect to an imageplane, and generate the first rendered image and the second renderedimage based on the depth data.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configure to obtain the depth data based on anamount of reflection of signal included in the volume data.
 10. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured togenerate a second rendered image which represents the volume data ondeeper depth than a represented depth in the first rendered image withrespect to a first region to reveal a hidden region of the object by anobstacle, and represents the volume data on equal depth to therepresented depth in the first rendered image with respect to the otherregion than the first region.
 11. An ultrasound imaging methodcomprising: generating a first rendered image from a volume dataobtained by scanning an object; displaying the first rendered image;based on an edit request, generating a second rendered image byrendering the volume data in a first region to a different depth from adepth of a surface in the first region in the first rendered image toreveal a hidden region of the object hidden by an obstacle; anddisplaying the second rendered image, wherein the hidden regioncomprises at least a part of a face region of a fetus.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising obtaining the volume data by scanning theobject.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising indicating atleast one surface of the object in the first rendered image based on anamount of reflection of signal included in the volume data.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising receiving the edit request withrespect to the first rendered image.
 15. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising generating the second rendered image by removing the obstaclefrom the first rendered image.
 16. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising representing voxels included in a non-target volume as areference color in the first rendered image and the second renderedimage.
 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving arecover request for recovering the second rendered image, and displayinga recovered rendered image in which a edited part while generating thesecond rendered image from the first rendered image is recovered fromthe second rendered image based on the recover request.
 18. The methodof claim 11, further comprising, obtaining, based on the volume data, adepth data which indicates a depth to the surface of the object withrespect to an image plane, and generating the first rendered image andthe second rendered image based on the depth data.
 19. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising obtaining the depth data based on an amountof reflection of signal included in the volume data.
 20. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising generating a second rendered image whichrepresents the volume data on deeper depth than a represented depth inthe first rendered image with respect to a first region to reveal ahidden region of the object by an obstacle, and represents the volumedata on equal depth to the represented depth in the first rendered imagewith respect to the other region than the first region.